Oh my god this is so sad i am 16 years old and i could not even imagine someone my age doing something like this i'm not saying its impossible especially not now-a-days.but this is horrible i have a 4 year old little brother so hearing this hits home. I couldn't imagine someone doing this to my brother.i am very sorry to the family.

Totally disgusting! I have a four year old boy as well, who is the gentlest person. It sucks to have to tell them that there are bad people out there that could hurt them, and put some caution into their innocent hearts. My Hubby is a Police Officer as well, and he tells me all the s*** he sees, and I wish he wouldn't, especially right before bed. It is unfathomable that a youth could do that to such a small helpless child who has no chance at defending himself. I hope something awful happens to this youth, and that his bs life is cut short in an equally offensive way for what he's done.

Brianna,
As a normal teen, can you help us figure out why so many teens are going "off"? Movies? Video games? Culture? What's the root of all of this, do you think? I don't believe all these kids are "just insane", it has to be something more.

He wore a parka in the middle of the summer? Well that's all the proof I need! String him up! He probably takes showers without a wash rag, too! Can I get a GUILTY?

Harry, I don't think I've ever seen you post anything of value.

Here's a recent update, the 14 year old is being charged as an adult in California, yay! Great news! Now Missouri and Florida need to get on board and charge Alyssa Bustamante and the five that burned Michael Brewer as adults also!

(CNN) -- A 14-year-old suspect in the murder of a 4-year-old boy found drowned and then stuffed into a clothes dryer in Mendota, California, has been charged as an adult, authorities said Tuesday.

Fresno County, California, District Attorney Elizabeth A. Egan said Raul Renato Castro was charged with special circumstances, including murder during a child molestation, sodomy, kidnapping and murder of a witness to prevent testimony.

Castro faces separate felony charges of kidnapping, sodomy and child molestation, Egan said.

Under California law, a 14-year-old is not eligible for the death penalty or a sentence of life without the possibility of parole, according to a statement from Egan's office. If found guilty, the boy could receive no more than 32 years to life plus 15 years.

The incident began Friday afternoon, when Alex Christopher Mercato's parents discovered that the child, who had been playing outside their house, was missing, Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims told reporters Monday.

The parents called police, who began to search the neighborhood and nearby parks in Mendota, 33 miles west of Fresno, she said. Soon, the FBI was called in.

On Saturday, authorities resumed the search door-to-door. They did not have to go far. In the house next door to the Mercatos, authorities discovered the boy's body stuffed inside a dryer in a closet, Mims said. An autopsy determined he had drowned.

The teenager, who had been the only member of his family who was at home on Friday afternoon, was arrested and booked into the juvenile justice center, Mims said.

Castro is the sole suspect in the case, she said. He is to be arraigned Wednesday in Fresno County Superior Court.

Harry,

Thank you. Your post was of value. This article does not represent objective reporting. It's yet another example of using propaganda techniques to evoke a strong reaction in the audience, and cause the reader to jump to unwarranted conclusions and make snap judgments. Justice should be blind and not judge guilt or innocence based on the accused falling outside the norms of the mainstream.

The death of this child is a tragedy. If the alleged murderer, a 14-year old child, is indeed guilty, that is also a tragedy. Reserve your anger and judgement for the societal crack these poor children fell through that brought them, their families, friends, and neighbors to this horrific place.

Robin,

Just insane? Since when have chemical imbalances been a minor thing? I think you have it backwards. Rather than it being just culture i.e. video games, movies, etc., I think it's obviously something more. Blaming things like the media is just a way for people to cope because they think we should be able to change one thing (let's say ban a specific movie) and suddenly teens will stop being disturbed. It's a cop-out and a waste of time.

However, having ranted I do feel for the family and I hope the teen get's incarcerated.

I demand to know whether or not the boy was drowned in the clothes washing machine!

What is it with people and the need to become personally involved in events that do not involve them? Nobody thinks the world is populated by 14 year old boys desiring to kill 4 year olds. There is no trend here. It's sad. Move on.

well said nancy. get a life.

Don't blame the media, video games or anything else similar for this. This kid is either a sociopath or psychopath and that is not cause such externals things. It is a combination of nature and nurture. I am a sociopath and I know how it feels to live without guilt, this 14 yearold was born this way and probably had family problems that cause this to come to fruition. When you have live the ability to feel no guilt you have problems making connections and get easily bored. Without a direction sociopaths may feel the need to explore such activities to alleviate boredom. Having my father die in front of me and having a family history of mental history made me the way I am.

You people blame culture, but you are what makes culture.

If a 13 year old girl thinks he's creepy, and a video store owner saw him wearing a parka in the summer, then he is guilty of a crime? This news report makes no sense.

Marie Smoke: You are just as bad as this boy is.

bkb205: If you think 14 year olds should be charged as adults, then I hope you also believe that 14 year olds should also be able to smoke, drink, and consent to sex with adults. Do you?

arthur, i believe this child did more than smoke and drink, and according to the article posted in comments, he had sex but it wasn't consensual by whomever he screwed. this kid is an animal. quit making excuses for him!if he isn't charged as an adult, then he will only pay 4 years for the crime of sodomising and murdering a 4 year old child. then the record is cleared as he is a juvenile. Is that justice in your opinion?

i understand that there is a new line of thinking about charging teens as adults because the laws don't seem to be consistant across the board for teens. but what would you have society do to correct this? 20 years ago, it wasn't as rampant for teens to be murdering unless it was gang related. now it's your next door neighbors that are the teens murdering for god knows what reason...the thrill maybe. so, what shall we do with cretins such as this once they are found guilty? slap their wrists and send them on their way on their 18th birthday to reoffend?

It is intriguing and disturbing how few people recognize that the story is unfair and imbalanced. Being described as creepy or wearing a parka in summer has no relation to being a murderer or someones guilt or innocence. That is how witch hunts are conducted in many societies even today! How can it be that people were never educated better as they grew up? It should have been part of any christian upbringing!

Robin

It's shoddy parenting. More and more parents are leaving their children with the tv, with games, with books, with movies, instead of actually teaching them something. Instead of sitting down and having a family dinner and talking with each other, teens are being shuttled to one activity or another, OR - even worse - sitting at home alone by themselves making a frozen dinner and watching the tv

Parents are the ones that need to step up and teach their kids right from wrong. It's not media, books, tv, movies. Those are fine (in moderation, with the parent setting rules), but what's not fine is parents letting their kids be raised by anything other than themselves.

By the way, I mean it's unfair and unbalanced to people who seem "creepy" or for some unknowable reason choose to wear a "parka in the middle of summer". I have will have absolutely no sympathy for the kid when he gets convicted of murder.

Hope he gets tried as an adult and gets raped and beat in prison for what he did to lil alex!! R.I.P Lil angel
(never got to meet my lil nephew!!!AAAAHHHHH!!!)

wow i cannot believe this young teenager could do this to such a little innocent boy. I give my heart out to Alex's family. and say that you cannot always trust anybody who lives on your street

My heart goes out to the family of this 4 year old baby. I have grandchildren his age. So yes this hits close to home for me also. I can't even begin to wonder what was in this 14 yr old mind! Apparently from some of the things I have read this is a troubled youth, not that it gives him the right to do what he did. At his age he does know right from wrong and YES I do believe he should be punished to the max. I am also sorry his mother has to loose a son to the system but at least she will be able to visit him.Unlike little Alex's parents!
Did the mother of this 14 yro babysit for Alex? If so then that is why he trusted him. I try to instill in my grandbabies that there are very mean and nasty people out there...
Again I just want to say that Alex and his family are in my prayers!!!

People....the boy was not arrested for wearing a parka or being creapy. He was arrested because he had access to the boy and they found reason to take him into custody. If they find there is not enough to hold him then he will be released. Smarten up....comments like arresting a child for wearing a parka in the summer are just stupid.

Sadly is to hear all this bad news! more sad is about kids, Because I still consider a 14 year old a kid! most of our comments show the anger that we feel towards the 14 year old I understand I feel the same. But I also we like to know why he did it,Games, Movies, computer they do show a lot of sex & violence and they do have fault in all this also parent they don't put enough attention because work or stress.

I cannot believe some of these comments posted here! I am not an American citizen but the death of a 4 year old by an allegedly 14 year is old is abhorent if in fact it is true.... If it is true then this "child" needs professional help and guidance through this time not newspaper reports and bad judgement calls about his 'so called life' Come on USA us Europeans thought you were better than that!!! Let a jury decide and don't hang someone before all the facts are known

Alex's story breaks my heart.

Robin asked:

Brianna,
As a normal teen, can you help us figure out why so many teens are going "off"? Movies? Video games? Culture? What's the root of all of this, do you think? I don't believe all these kids are "just insane", it has to be something more.

Well, I'm 14, and I know partially why teens snap. Now, not all teens are the same. Though, most kids' parents are the problem. Kids don't normally just do things for no apparent reason, there's a cause to every effect. I'm assuming the kid was raped as a younger child, maybe abused, or something like that.

I feel really bad for the kid and his family, but the 4-year old kids' mom should have kept an eye on him while he was outside.

This is only to those who are insinuating that the only reason this boy has been accused of this crime is because someone said he was strange and another said he wore a parka in the summer.

I am sure they did not charge him with this crime based on statements about being weird and wearing parkas in the summer. The victim was sodomized. Chances are there was DNA, along with other physical evidence. For those of us who have a functioning brain and an IQ higher than that of toast, considered that reality before going off on some asinine rant about other people's recollection of the accused. I am also quite confident that people who jump to such idiotic conclusions (such as yourselves or the people who gave statements about the accused) in either direction will not be among those selected for the jury in his trial. And the world takes a collective sigh of relief for that.

My stepson is almost 17 years old and is Bi-Polar I, Bi-Polar Hypersexual, Manic, etc. His father, the grandma and his father's sister want to take him out of the place he is in and take him off his bi-polar medication even though he has written and talked about killing. He wrote about wanting to marry a 12 year old and if her parents don't like it,he will kill them. He got drunk took a lighter and burnt himself 14 times over his body. He also masterbated at a neighbors home with a 4 year old girl going in and out of the room and yet my mother-in-law, husband and sister-in-law all think Jake just made some mistakes. The doctors, therapists all think it is a matter of time before my stepson does something else but they are in DENIAL. He cannot come to my home THANK GOD but my husband wants him to move in with his sister and her children. What can I do to STOP this madness? I am at a loss. My stepson is a walking time bomb...it is only a matter of time before he seriously hurts someone yet his dad, grandma and aunt are all in DENIAL.

Charged as an adult? That's silly. This child of 14 isn't anywhere close to an adult's age or mindset.

So he wears a parka in the summer? I see kids wearing parkas and sweat shirts in the summer and shorts in the winter. That does not make him weird.

Having said that. He evidently had problems his mother could not see, or they were so long standing, that to her he seemed normal. I imagine in hindsight, she will be able to recall instances where his behavior was off. It depends on how much insight and education she has. But even without the education to see, she might have had an instinct and ignored it. I feel sorry for all of them.

We get into these discussions and the same questions come up. Regarding missing or dead neighborhood animals, what kind of kids did he hang out with? If any. And importantly, what were their ages? If his friends were mostly younger then he was, then you can see where this might be one sign. Has anyone found a personal diary of the boy? What kind of stuff did he watch or read. Has anyone gone through his stash of stuff that all teenagers keep? Did he frequently baby sit? And did he ever play roughly with children?

It will be there in his life. And how well did the kids mother know this teen she used to baby sit her child? Just because he was convenient did not make him able to do this.

When there is a murder or kidnapping the one thing that comes out is the association. If the person is seen as a neighbor then to the child he is no stranger. So when parents warn a child not to talk to strangers or to take candy etc, they should be more specific. Sad.

I HAVE TWO BOYS ONE IS 6 AND THE OTHER IS 1 AND EIGHT MONTHS AND I CAN'T NOR DO I WANT TO IMAGINE WHAT THIS LITTLE BOYS MOM IS GOING THROUGH OR WHAT THE LAST MINUTES OF ALEX LIFE WAS LIKE I ONLY HOPE THAT THIS MURDERER GETS WHAT HE DESERVES AND MY HEART GOES OUT TO BOTH FAMILIES CAUSE THEY ARE BOTH GOING THROUGH SOME REAL DIFFICULT SITUATION.

Wow, he was arrested because he was the only one who was at home when the boy was found already dead in his family's dryer. And he should be tried as an adult. If my nieces or nephews killed someone else's baby, I would want my them to pay for it. If they did it in cold blood, they should be punished. If it was an accident, then it will come out. However, this was no accident. And for those of you who want to blame the media and video games, come on! Are you serious? I grew up watching rated R horror movies and other great movies, watching Bill & Ted and Beavis & Butthead, but my parents would get in my face and say "You are not a damn actor on TV!! You are a real person who could get killed if you do something like this! You idiot!!" They would put me in my place if I tried to imitate anything. Parents need to be the mediator for their kids when they watch programs such as these. It seems as though kids today are plain dumb and bored. I was raised by parents who were in control and I knew I wasn't dumb enough to do some of those things. I was smart and had smart parents. These kids today are stupid and mostly have careless parents. However, I think this boy just had nasty thoughts and deserves nasty things to happen to him. An eye for an eye, btches.

When one of us is sick then we are all sick. Until we can accept that then this scenario will replay itself over and over again.

Each and every one of us who did not turn out to be a depraved monster, molester or serial killer ought to be saying, "there but for the grace of god go I." Because there's nothing YOU did to make it that way, you're simply very, VERY fortunate. No matter how much choice you think you've made, there was a point in your life where you came into it from something beyond your control and before then things could have gone any direction at all. You could have been anything.

There is something broken here, both in this boy and in the reaction of the world to him. Punishment is not the cure and it's not a deterrent, either, because children don't make conscious decisions to grow up this way. There is something wrong and until we understand that it could have been any one of us in his place we will see it again.

No, it's not because of anything you did. You didn't succeed at becoming some great person. You fell into quite by accident so be grateful you're not trapped in the head of someone who is obviously very, VERY broken.

There are no winners. We need to figure out what's wrong rather than just lighting the flaming pitchforks. There will be another one and it could be your kid so I would hope you'd want to prevent this in the future rather than just punishing as it happens.

But then this is America and our taste for blood is insatiable. We must have someone else to be the bad in order to feel that we are the good. We must have something to condemn for the sake of our own salvation.

It's the gene pool people. It's been getting worse for years. When I was growing up, you NEVER heard or saw anything like this happening before. It's only going to get worse. I'm glad my days are numbered. I don't want anything to do with this slimy, animal-like population. You can all go to H***

I don't know how they can charge him as an adult, when he is clearly crazy and a sociopath.

I thought the principle still applied that people are innocent until proven guilty? When someone is arrested and even charged, that is only step one, out of about seven or eight steps, which often lead to acquittal. Leave the 14-year-old alone, Lord's sake! My heart goes out to the poor little 4-year-old's family. But really, nothing else should be said right now. *Except: that the above is irresponsible reporting*.

14 is plenty old enough to be tried as an adult, 8th-9th grade? If you dont know rules of life at that age something is wrong with you, therefore send him to the asylum for life.

r henry
I like your comment.

It is almost certain that it is poor parenting for much of it. I maintain strict discipline in my house. I have seen households that put down and encourage ignoring anything the wife says, leaving her powerless to maintain discipline. 6 and 8 year old boys who kick their mother and the father does not allow her to discipline them, nor does the father discipline them. Is it any wonder that some kids do not respect others? I despise the parents who shrug and smile and say "boys will be boys" as if it were an acceptable excuse! What bulls#*t, because the second part of that saying is “until they get caught and must face the consequences like a man”.

One kid that came to my house had grown up thinking that when an adult tells him to stop, it means stop until the adult's back is turned and then he can continue to do whatever, for as long as he can get away with it. He willfully decided that I had no business telling him to stop. And this was not in public, where people tend to keep their mouth shut about disgraceful behavior. This was within my house where I have every right to say something.

A sixteen year old boy that I went too school with back in 1991 commited murder killing too young boys under the age on ten. Afterwards at school classmates were all commenting that he had always acted strangely. Red flags!! Sure his parents knew and maybe teachers but no one intervened!! I never had ever seen this classmate but even if I had I was only a kid myself. His teachers as in this case knew something was wrong with this teen but did nothing!!

i personaly don't care if the person is 14 or any age if you kill you don't need to be out in public. it is bad enough that the family has to deal with the fact that their kid is dead but now the killer is able to get off just because he isn't a spific age?!! what is the matter with people, they think that if we just let these people go that they will suddly be good? that is the most messed up s*** i have ever heard! agin i'm sorry for the family's loss, may god keep them safer.

This is sad... No matter how weird this 14 year old boy is, if he did it, he needs to be punished for it. My heart goes out to the mom of 4yrd old boy. I have a 6yr old and it makes me upset how an older teenager can take advantage of an innocent child...

This is sad... No matter how weird this 14 year old boy is, if he did it, he needs to be punished for it. My heart goes out to the mom of 4yrd old boy. I have a 6yr old and it makes me upset how an older teenager can take advantage of an innocent child...

What people don't seem to understand is that sexual abusers were all victims of abuse themselves. They then grow up to repeat the same cycle of abuse. This is very well documented.
Sadly, someone sodomized the 14 year old- likely when he was a toddler and then he he repeated the behavior that happened to him when he was helpless on another helpless child.
Unfortunately, his mother never got him the help he clearly needed and now it is too late for both of them.
My heart breaks for that 4 year old boys family- I cannot imagine what they are going through.
My heart also breaks for that 14 year old who did such a horrible thing and will pay for it with his future. Don't get me wrong, he needs to be held accountable for his horrendous crime, but don't forget that he never asked to be raped as a child himself and was never given the tools to deal with that trauma. Everyone loses in this situation. How very, very sad.

i was checking a book out at the library on toxins in our foods,water... etc the librarian had read an article on plastics in bottles,aluminum cans etc. they tested the plastic on mice. it made the males more aggressive and the girl less nurturing and aggressive /or passive. somehow it affects/effects the hormones. just food for thought. .............we have lost the american family,respect for our country,elders ourselves. i'm 51 and i wish our life was a little more sheltered for our kids sake. black and white tv land. :) patti

Whether he wore a parka or looked creepy is besides the point. The fact is that he killed a child...that is against the law and he should face the consequences....fair or not fair? ask the little boys mom how she feels! it is fair that her baby was taken away from her. Just how unfair is it to her? Can we measure that? Whether th murderer is a product of the society or not doesn't not jusyify his behaviors. Wrong is wrong no matter what angle you viewed it from.

I lost a son too, is what that mother said, that woman has a lot of nerve and guts to even speak and show her face in public.. how dare she even compair such a loss, i am related to baby alex, i read the fresno bee right after goin with his mother to get him an outfit to wear to bury her son in, i got to see alex at the funeral home just laying there lifeless, and that woman will still be able to see her son live and grow, but what about alex's mother that kid took that all away from her.. she will never get to touch, hug and kiss her son ever again, so the only one that loss was Alex's mother and family.
we love u and miss u so...much alex. rip

I also have a 4yr old. I was very very upset to know that an innocent 4yr old boy was killed by another child. I was also thinking that the worsed should happen to the 14yr old boy. But as I started reading more into the Raul Castro's father's backround. I realised that they were both victims. Raul's father is also a child molester, was in prison for 3yrs for doing the same thing to a boy. Raul needs mental help and unfortunatly diserves to be put away. He will do it again.

When my father died John 5:28,29 Helped alot. It says that their will a resurection. I would love to see Alex in person and embrase him.

My heart goes out to the little boy's parents.. I can't imagine the grief they are going through right now, but where were they when the boy was playing in the yard? Was he being babysat? I have young children, and I never let them play outside without my supervision even though sometimes I wish I could and even though I live in a "safe" neighborhood.

What innocent til proven guilty? This isn't a court of law! This is a place to share our thoughts, feelings and conjecture on how something so bad could happen.

okay, so the 14 yo was molested by his father and the father is now known to have done this to at least someone else. why didn't the mother get him help? There is all kinds of victim assistance programs...no excuse on the mother's part.

this child will offend again. he's broken. i'm afraid he's now broken beyond fixable. it's time for us to lock him away for the animal that he is, no matter how he became that way. most child sexual offenders were once offended, and they repeat their crimes time and again. no matter the times of incarceration, and the monitoring of them when they get out. once a molester, always a molester. if not in deed, then dangerously in thought on the verge of doing the deed.

No one lives in a safe neiborhood. I don't care if you have known people for years..you never really know people like a neibor for instance. How many times have we turned on the news and heard reporters talking to neibors of killers and the people say he seemed alright. Look at BTK killer for example..What a shock to his family & friends. What we need to try to remember is you really are safe nowhere. Please never never never leave the children alone to play or let them go with other children with out you going too see the parents of the child trying to play with your child and then you as the parent determine whether you or your child stay to play.Trust noone ! We are our kids only means of protection. I hope to God I never make a mistake. I cannot believe this child that commited this act did not show signs of violence before. I would care to hear more about his past. What can you do as a member of a community if you suspect someone is capable of a terrible crime. If you call the police and report it nothing gets done until the suspect actually DOES something. Pitty...My heart and prayers go out to Christophers family. This could happen to any one of us because we all let our gaurd down at times. Gods angels took charge over him and he is safe now with the lord.

I posted the above comment before I read some comments about the teens father was a child molester and that the teen was also molested.I Knew there had to be a past here. I think the boy never had a chance. He was destined to repeat. He needed intense counseling from the time this happened to him. Parents are a childs role models. look what he had to model. Sad.....He is broken for sure beyond repair because he will do it again. read the statistics on this. we sure do not want to bury another child in 20 years.God Bless

Four year old children should not be playing outside, even in their own yard. They should be playing in an area supervised, preferably by their own parents. And the Mother of the offender actually said that her child was "raised right?" No, I don't think so.

It is not always fair to place blame on the parents when things go bad, but in this tragic situation, I'm not so sure.

why we left a 4 year old in the street playng by himself and we trust our kids with people that can hurt them,this is crazy i do no want to imaging a kid suffering like that we have to kill the child abusers never let them go back to the street we are supporting them with our taxes he have to do something about it ,imaging all the kids abused by their own family the sistem give the kids back to abusers after a class,and the child can no do anything about it! please people united can make power to change this a law that this people think twice before do that to a kid,why you just do not take an animal no jail no suffering to other child if you were abused why put anothe kid on that situation,get your abuser and do it to him,but that would no change anything you just become the same you hated...

How sad! Alex and his family are in my thoughts and prayers.

The 14 year old should be charged as an adult. If convicted, he should be punished as an adult. Letting the murder of a small child slide would just be another tragedy.

That said, not much surprises me anymore. We live with an anything goes attitude, and our children see it everyday. It's disgusting that a 14 year old wanted to murder a child, but the idea that we can do whatever we want with no regards for anyone else is something kids see everyday. No fault divorce, on demand abortion, no strings attached sex with anyone, any time, anywhere, mothers chasing careers at the expense of their kids' childhoods, fathers running off and starting new families--I can't fathom WHY a 14 year old would WANT to kill, but I think I see why he thought he could.

I'd be interested to know what his home life was like. Was he abused? Did he have two parents? Was his being home alone that afternoon an occasional thing, or was it the norm for him? Did he grow up in a loving, attentive, intact home?

While wanting to kill a child is extremely, well, extreme, people sometimes want to do horrifying things. The difference is there was a time we weren't constantly bombarded with the notion that we can do everything we want. Don't get me wrong, I hold him fully responsible for his actions, but I really question the message kids are getting from adult behavior. Maybe we should all stop acting on our own impulses and whims, and consider the examples we're setting.

On an aside, and I'm not blaming the victim's family, I can't imagine letting my own young children play outside alone.

Lane, you keep saying "want to kill" like this boy just woke up from being a normal, well adjusted and healthy young teenager one morning and said, "gosh, sodomy sounds fun today and as an extra treat I'll throw in some murder, too." which I am sure is not the case.

This kid is obviously deeply disturbed and my guess would be that he needs some serious psychological evaluation if not for his own sake then for the sake of preventing our future children from venturing down this path.

Freedom of reproductive choice and our "anything goes" attitude is not what creates our future pedophiles and serial killers. It's our complete lack of understanding of the situation at hand and it's our complete inability to see the possibility within ourselves, our need to dehumanize a person who has become so broken to the point that he/she wouldn't know how to get the help he needs (BEFORE any act of this took place) even if he tried.

It's the treatment that we give to this situation that prevents the next one from trying to get any help. And what help is there anyway? None. What is a person to do when he looks within and realizes he is developing the urge to abuse and murder a child. Who should he turn to? A parent who is likely to simply recoil and push him out? A friend who would do the same? The psychotherapist who has no understanding of where to even begin with helping the boy?

As of this day we have nothing in place for prevention and so the next one is lost before he has even begun.

If you knew somehow that your own child was going to end up being so disturbed and could end up committing such a horrible crime I am certain that you would want him to have some kind of help to keep it from happening. But guess what? It's not there.

and it's because we have this attitude, "it's sick and I could not, would not, do not want to for a minute understand it."

But we owe it to those yet to come to try and understand it. We just refuse to.

p.s. A person who came forward and admitted to having the urge to commit such an act would receive the identical treatment as someone who had already done it. The people here would be saying the exact same things about that person, that he was sick and needed to be locked away and the key lost.

THAT is the problem.

I would be stunned if someone readily admitted they would want to help him.

Plain and simple, I hope he gets raped with a knife or somthing he wouldnt find pleasurable. I really hope the worst for the attorney who tries to convice people he is innocent. History repeats it self, therefore he needs to be delt with to set an example to all the other monsters out there.

David Rochlin, he got into the tub with the boy and held him underwater till he stopped moving, checked for a pulse and then put him in the dryer.

Nancy, you left a comment so why are you complaining? I think you need to get a life if you really beleive people who care about this need to mind their buisness. I would bet most of these people including my self area part of the community. So said Amanda, get a life Nancy.

Kimberlyoo. What a sad tale you've told, and all the comments afterwards do not speak to your comment. Someone did point out that if one person is sick we're all sick. It takes all of us to find the solution to the ever increasing violence and sad condition of our minds. I'm sorry your step son is in the situation he is in. I'm even more sorry that his biological family wants to "pretend" nothing is wrong or askew.

The only suggestion that I can come up with is for you to candidly speak with the attending doctor as to what is going on at the homefront in attempting to get him out of that protective surrounding. If he is still dangerous and volatile whilst on his meds and in the hospital, it will be 1 thousand times worse when he's out and off his meds (family inflicted)!

If he does get out, hopefully he will act out in a small enough way to get him jailed, and subsequently re-committed. The family will eventually tire of the uncontrolled drama and the expense that goes with trying to keep the mentally ill son out of institutions and jails. They are no doubt still seeing him as a sweet young boy. They have denied that he has turned into what you have described. It's easier for them to pretend it's all ok...now. They will wise up. I hope for your sake, it's soon.

Sending you white light of protection and positive thoughts and energy.

Kimberlyoo, I too am sorry for your situation also. I totally agree with the comment above. I think he needs to be admited to a hospital for intense therapy. I hope you can find a way to do so.

Amanda, you seem quite blood thirsty. Hopefully you can get some help before you kill someone or rape them with a knife. A mind that can even concoct such a fantasy is one in which I, for one, am thankful I do not reside.

As for using this kid as an example. How many "examples" do we need to make before we realize that it's not working? Prevention, prevention, prevention.

Why does no one seem to get that? How wonderful would it be if we didn't even NEED to make examples of people because people were healthy and not in situations like this to begin with. A pipe dream, I'm sure, given the fact that so few seem to think it's important.

Everyone wants to get even but no one seems to want to stop it from happening in the first place. I think it's because if it were not a problem anymore, we wouldn't have something to foam at the mouth about. We enjoy despising others, don't we? We enjoy a situation like this because it gives us the opportunity to act out our own depravity within our minds.

To even suggest that raping someone with a knife is a good thing only shows that you're capable of as horrific an act as this kid is. It doesn't really matter what your justification is, it's the fact that you can even imagine a situation where it would be enjoyable to see it happen that scares me.

sorry henry, I had to laugh at you for a little bit. A perfect example would be the man in Ohio. Blood Thirsty? Only for child predators. I am so happy that you will never know what it feels like to be raped in the rear at age four. It hurts especially when it is by someone you trust. i know how it feels, therefore i have no tolerance. I dont watch the news becasue I cant stomach these things. I would have never found out but since the father is my husbands friend I found out. By the way, i have had 20 yrs to reflect on my personal experience so ya, I can think of some bad s*it i would like to do to my stepdad, the one that hurt me.

I beleive the knife was implying somthing not pleasurable. I think if that happened to me, I might feel the same as she. Back to whats important everyone, this is a horrible tragedy. My heart goes out to the family.

the thing is Amanda, you are in total contradiction of yourself. In one post you say you hope he gets knife raped and on the other hand you say "I totally agree with the comment above. I think he needs to be admited to a hospital for intense therapy." so which his it? Certainly both things cannot happen simultaneously. One action will make him far worse than he is now while the other action might actually help him or at least help us to understand what happened. these two "hopes" of yours are not cohesive with one another.

The other thing is that you have no idea what I have endured in my life, what I have had 35 years to contemplate and work my way through. You have absolutely no idea and this is certainly not the place that I intend on discussing it.

I can tell you this much. I am not some sheltered, naive, "peace and love for all" person who just fell of the banana boat. I've been through some things in my time, I've seen some things and I've met some people. There's nothing I would be ashamed to share with someone that needed to hear it because I know from experience that it's not because I'm some freaking saint or because I'm so great at making perfect choices that I came to be where I am today. It's not because of anything I did that I didn't end up in a much different place.

I've run with the best of them and I've run with the worst of them.

The thing is that when you make one post calling for the knife rape of another human being and then another saying you "totally" think he needs intense therapy you unveil yourself as a person who isn't really thinking too deeply about this and so you demonstrate that you'll pretty much say whatever you need to in order to make an argument.

Do yourself a favor and sit down for a while each night, in silence, and take one of these thoughts you're having and follow it through to the very end and try to get a handle on what you really feel. You're really not there yet.

I'm assuming your 20 from your comment and i have to tell you that you make me laugh a little with your comment because I was there 15 years ago and I remember thinking I was so freaking smart and that if the world would just learn to think like me then we'd be okay.

But then I thought a bit more thoroughly over the next decade and I realized I would never know everything and I wouldn't want to because it would be a lot of responsibility. I also realized that if I was going to start passionately sharing my controversial opinions about knife raping criminals as acceptable forms of punishment then I'd better start following through on those thoughts so I could be certain they actually made sense and that they were cohesive with my other thoughts because if they weren't then I was going to have to throw them out.

Somehow I suspect that you're going to throw out the one about therapy, though. It's not exciting enough as knife rape is.

and Bella (great name. I have a little dog named Bella.) these comments are not about the boy and his family, who my heart also goes out to. They're about creating a venue for humans to sharpen their claws and practice their verbal lynching skills on mentally ill 14 year old children.

If you want to support the poor family maybe you ought to send them a card or donate some money to them.

Hey Amanda, I just thought of another interesting thought and I wanted to see if you might find it equally as compelling as I have.

If you were raped in rear as a child (which I am truly sorry for and please don't allow my sarcastic demeanor to detract from that very real fact.) and now you're in a position where you are imagining the knife rape of a 14 year old mentally ill person as an acceptable act then you might say that you are a testament to the idea that childhood molestation and rape can effect a person in such a way as to cause them to become the kind of person who can justify knife rape at some point in their life, some place in their mind.

so perhaps you can dig a little deeper and see how this is exactly what has happened here. You are using your own experience with being "raped in the rear" to justify the acceptable knife rape of another human being so why is it so hard for you to believe that is what we have here with this boy? Perhaps his own experience was far more grizzly than your own and it pushed him just a notch further than you and he actually followed through with it.

After all, your calling for it, justifying it, is only one step away from acting on it; isn't it? So maybe the two of you are not so different after all?

Oh my gosh Henry you are right!!! Oh Henry let me go admit my self! There is no contradiction, the stepson is bipolar and has not offended yet. Not sure how that is contradicting but anyhow...you ae ludacris implying I, should rape someone with a knife. I think some crazy a** inmate should before they send Raul to get lethal injection. Becasue that is exactly what he did to the baby. Raped him, then killed him. yes by the way, a knife is waaayy more exciting. That is so ignorant to think that is exciting for me. You cant tell me what emotions I feel. Funny, Bella is my dogs name. We must have much in common, we have the smae dog name and you aer acting more crazy than I! As for your second comment. The only thinh I can compare the pain to is it happening with a knife thats what it felt like. Soooo, there you go. And again, we have much in common. According to you, I have much in common with the 14 yr old. Therefore the three of us have much in common. Thats my conclusion. But seriously we do have much in common, he was raped by his father as well, but unlike him, I am applled by the though of hurting an innocent person. S0 you have run with the worst of them huuh? Figures you sound like someone who has done the same as this 14 year old. Go ahead and mock my situation. Blaire and Marie smoke said the same thing i did but sugar coated. Thnks Henry for letting me vent. I feel sooooo much better. I do agree with BellaBloved I should have said nothing I am actually embarrased to take up space on here.Sorry guys. So Henry the three of us are going to get together for coffe or what? I would guess you are a therapist but i am thinking you are a convict also. I guess you cant be both, so I go with convict.

r Henry,
It depresses me that a creep like you likes my name. How dare you make a joke out of her situation. Unless you are in her head you don't understand her emotions. I am an intelligent person and I see very clearly you are playing head games with an abused 20 year old. What she expressed is nothing compared to what the sexually abused/assaulted victims I work with daily say. It seems all these years later she is stuck in the begining of recovery. Sir, move on. Very well put Amanda, I am glad this made you feel better. Next time try to let your emotions go where people can't judge you. Just move on from this and good luck on your road to recovery.

Also,it seems Amanda is writing some words backward. r Henry, dislecia is common amongst sexually abused/assaulted children. Your assumption she is making her story up maybe true but from the little analysis I can do I highly doubt it.

Bella, I never even said she was making her story up. I said that she was using her own experience and desire to exact revenge on another human being (thought it may be vicariously through an inmate) strikes me as contradictory because she can justify hurting him based on the fact that she was harmed as a child but then she cannot imagine how this 14 year old mentally ill child might be damaged in that same way but perhaps worse because he carried his actions further than she might have. then she said he needed intense therapy. I guess I missed something because I had thought, mistakenly I suppose, that she was talking about this same 14 year old and I am pretty sure that we could all agree that to knife rape someone and also offer them intense therapy would pretty much cancel one another out.

I'm sorry that you feel I'm a "creep" for the simple fact that I am trying to persuade some people in an on line venue that they might be able to see things a little differently because our current ways of seeing this situation do not, clearly, work towards preventing it from happening again in the future with some other child/children.

See? This is what I am thinking about. Okay, let's all agree this is crap, this sucks, this kid is sick. Ok, so what then? Kill him? String him up? Knife rape him? OK!!! But then what? What about the next kid? Shall we just continue happily into the future killing and knife raping 14 year old children and completely ignoring the fact that we are failing as a society at actually STOPPING these things from happening?

We get nowhere that way. We get revenge, we satisfy our blood lust but we do nothing to save our future generations from becoming victims of these things Or from becoming the perpetrators of these things. I don't know about you but I would like to hope that someday we wouldn't have to lay our children to rest at the hands of other very sick children AND I would also like to hope we would no longer have to incarcerate other children for being too sick to help/stop themselves.

If that makes me a creep then so be it. No one else seems the slightest concerned with this so someone has to think about it and someone has to talk about it SOMEWHERE. I guess I'll do it.

So lynch me, too.

Bella? Can you tell from my writing that I might have some of my own childhood experience in which I am speaking from or are you only capable of the kind of analysis that makes you one of the "in" crowd?

Personally, I would like to be able to take away Amanda's experience all together and since we can't do that then maybe we can at least try to do it for other kids in the future.

and now Amanda, I've told you I am not going to unload all of my own experience onto you or anyone else here but I'm going to assure you I am not a convict or a therapist. I am only a person who has taken a different attitude than you have coming out of some similar experiences. I would like to see prevention. You would like to see vindication. that's pretty opposite if you ask me.

Also, I am not mocking you. I am trying to see if I can say something to you that might make you see things differently. That it maybe could bring out some compassion in you for someone who didn't handle the abuse as well as you did and how very unfortunate that is. How lucky you are in this regard. Just as you said you are happy I was not raped in the rear (which is only your assumption) as a child, I am also happy for you that your experience did not cause you to lose control over yourself and perpetrate something as unthinkable as this kid has done.

I can also assure you that I have never raped or murdered any living thing, let alone a child. I could not do such a thing. I'm the kind of person that hears about someone's mother who I don't even know passing away and I cry for them. I'm not a monster by any means but I know my experience and I know what could have been and I have to be able to say I am thankful I took a different turn and did not become one.

My only intention in ever posting here was to try to say some things that perhaps many here had not thought about. You seemed, truthfully, the most angry of them and so I addressed you personally. Obviously you are not getting anything out of it so I am certainly not going to continue to press it with you.

I can only hope that another person might have read this and got something from it.

I would never say this kid ought to just be forgiven and set loose again. I am saying he needs help and that we as a culture need to try to find the understanding of what he has done because only through the understanding can we help the future generations from becoming the same. In order for that understanding to occur we must be willing to relate to the kid, which is hard I know, but we owe it to our children and that's just what is most important, isn't it?

So we have to try to find a real reason. We have to be able to accept that there IS a real reason and we have to look for it. To just go, "he's sick and ought to die" really does nothing to obtain that.

Finally, when I say I've run with the worst of them I am saying I have been in some pretty down and out situations in my life, I've hung out with a crack head or two, I've had a prostitute hang out on my front porch and chit chat for a while now and then. I am not afraid to try and see what's up with these people. They are people, after all and understanding can work wonders to help them climb up. No, I have not personally been friends with a rapist (that I know of) or a pedophile.

I do have a father who was very sick, mentally, and who was able to do a lot of damage to me as a kid and it was hard to overcome but I did as best I could and I don't speak to him to this day but I'm here and, like you, I haven't hurt anyone. But I want to try to remember that it could have been different.

maybe you can too.

This story is indeed tragic, but there are several things that bother me. Most are in the comments.

1) The lack of objective thought. Those with children want the alleged offender to be killed or sent to prison with people who will rape/kill him. Prison never works. It never rehabilitates.

2) He is 14, and thus should not be tried as an adult. I never understand why any state would change the laws based on how horrendous the situation is. The kid is still just a kid. He needs heavy counseling in a secure facility for the majority of his life. Prison won't help him recover or become a productive member of society. Some people forget that that's what prisons are meant to do--rehabilitate.

3) He was charged with sodomy? Of all the charges that could have been (and should have been) brought against him, they stick this charge on him? It's an affront to normal people everywhere. Sodomy should not be illegal and enforcing it in a bad situation is making grounds to enforce it in a situation where it should not be (i.e. consenting adults). Is molestation separate from rape? I believe so, and yet they charged him with sodomy instead of rape. Ridiculous.

4) Wow. The spirit of innocent until proven guilty is long dead in the U.S. A horrible thing happened, but we don't know the whole situation... only that a socially awkward kid was arrested for a horrible crime. Police have been known to force confessions to make a case. It's even more likely when the alleged criminal is young and afraid of the police. Even if he is telling the truth, if they violated the Miranda rights, then we have to ask ourselves what is more important: The rights of all Americans, or the case against this very scared, and mentally disturbed child.

5) My last note, if he's proven guilty, he should serve an appropriate sentence, as a child.

Six words : Read the Bible for heaven's sake!

Vicky, your suggestion is great for a person who believes in the Bible. I am not one of those people so I find your suggestion vague and meaningless. By reading a fictional book what am I supposed to accomplish? The bible causes as much confusion in children as any child molester ever has, believe me. And that's something I do know from personal experience.

okay , that sounds much better. I am going to keep reading this over and over and hope it honestly sticks. Your mission is accomplished but I dont know how this can be prevented? I dont see how we are suppose to find these monsters before they srike. Not every one is an obvious offender. Every thing is screwed up. I like the whole prevention not vindication,but it seems like prevention is immposible. I guess you are right vindication is easier. I need to find a way to see this another way. I cry also, every night this has happened, I have been having zanex coctails since I found out he was missing becasue I know how the story ends. If you would have came at me this way in the first place, we could have avoided all the tension. You have opened a part of my mind I didnt allow to be explored. I just thought scare these bastards and it will all go away. You are right though, we need to find the problem to fix it so our children will be safe. I see were you are coming from, I can't accept it fully in a day, but in time I know I will get it. Thanks for this. Maybe I will be able to be like you and not angry and hostile about the situation. I want to say sorry and thank you. I hope I can be like you someday adn eb so understanding.As you know his father was convicted on similar charges so I guess we cant kill them all but we should try to help them all. I am so glad you have turned your horrible experience into somthing others can learn from.

Everyone needs to keep a close eye on there kids, this is so unimaginable. I have a 4 year old boy also and my heart goes to this poor mother, we always have to watch our babies because even family members as sick as it sounds could do this. I hope god watches over his children and we put these sick people away forever.

Vicky, after all the trama I had tonight I called my grandma and asked why? Why,Why,Why,Why?????? Why is happening all the time now? Why does god allow this? I was raised heavy in christianity and she said, because eve ate the apple and now the devil makes this stuff happen. I am tired of asking God to make it stop, tired of asking for help. Whne I was little I used to pray to the devil to take the bad stuff back with him becasue it was scary. Sofar praying to either of them has not worked. So Vicky can you tell me why God created us and if he love us, why he lets this happen. Please dont say the devil. i dont want to deny him but i am getting pushed. so please give me a good answer, if you have one.

The answer to any question that's been posed is the same as I have already stated, read the book if the answer, truth and understanding of what has been and is to come is what you seek, and yes- over and over and over again until you start to get it.
We are born of man and inherit the freedom of choice and the burden of temptation, but what is the source before these forces the one which colors those forces and sends them in any which direction?
Be careful what you think, speak, do and worship as so you will become, and the very core source of those choices will be the one which will manifest within you and color the forces with in you, and be at the feet of your power and actions all so frequently and inevitably it will seem to become second nature... which if negative or dark may not be so good.. right?

And although I cannot provide you with a fairly tale answer or scientific theory/explanation it is not because I have not pondered it... just read the Bible, it is the truth- regardless of whether or not it is accepted, some who walk the Earth will be almost blind and deaf to the truth, and some actually are- this is because they have been made this way either by the choices of their father (family before them) or their own.

Gosh, forget I asked. I just read the ten commandments on the phone with grandma before I posted that I dont need a fairytale answer. I just want some one to help me understand. Sorry this is the wrong place for that. You saying read the bible! means nothing to anyone on here, thats not the cure to this......never mind lost cause I dont agree with any kind of raticals. I am even more confused than i was as i read that waste of space post.

why was the four year old left alone? we don't live in a world where you can do that anymore. in or outside of the home.

The 14 yr olds momsaid she lost her son that day too????? Moron, she lost him the day she conceived him with a convicted offender. I feel soooo bad foer the other 6 kids they have. Thanks lady for giving a monster 7 kids to sexually torture and then those 7 will do the same and it just spreads like wild fire. That pisses me off!

Amanda, sorry for being too abrasive. I can be that way but I'm glad you feel better now.

I am going to disagree with Vicky. People have been reading the Bible for centuries and it has fueled some of the most violent and crazed periods in our history.

If you really want to read something that's really helpful I'd suggest any book by J. Krishnamurti. There are a ton of them and they truly are about inner peace and the simple power of acceptance.

Blessings.

Where was GOD?

this nigga is clearly just trifling. he dont got no morals in life.

if this dumbass kid would've done that shit to my son he wouldve been out of this planet....why would you do that to an innocent child wtf!nasty bastard!!prayers to the 4yr old family!

Stefani, you are obviously someone whose opinion is based on a high level of education and so very difficult to argue with. Of all these posts I can't believe it took until now for someone to come along with such a voice of reason.

"He dont got no morals in life" is deeply profound and I for one and forever changed by reading your thoughts. Thank you.

BLESSING TO YOU AS WELL R HENRY. :)THANKS FOR THE SUGGESTION, THAT WILL BE MY NEW READ OVER CHRISTMAS BREAK. WHAT SHE WAS SAYING WAS VERY EXTREME TO THE POINT IT DIDNT MAKE SENCE TO ME.

this is totally sad i can't believe a 14 year old bpy wpuld such a thing. i bless the family who was hurt and the pain that was brought to the family beacause a teen boy decided to kill their son

I think that boy shouldfry what does it matter if he told the police before talking to the lawyer. he did it and that is what the boy deserve is the death penality if it was my son I would have killed him with my bare hands for killing and abusing my son like that. the lawyer must not have a heart or she ain't got kids. But God will pay you back for helping a 14 year loser and killer out of charges of killing and abusing a 4 year ld boy he should die

R.I.P ALEX

What kind of person does these things to an innocent child? Let alone a 14yr old boy not only murdering but also MOLESTING/RAPING? WTF is wrong with this world today? He'll get his Karma when in prison...they LOVE child muderers/molesters/rapists there. This is just one sick individual.

What's a 4 year old doing playing in the front yard by himself unattended?

I can't believe this. Wait. Yes I can. I'm 18 and I have a 2 and a half year old brother so this really made me sick to imagine some kid just a few years younger than me coming into my mother's yard, stealing my brother, raping him, drowning him, and then stuffing his poor little body into a dryer like he was yesterday's trash. Hormones was one of the first reasons for this guy raping that baby to pop into my head but I quickly dismissed the thought because hormones are no excuse. Something is wrong with that kid. I mean, I forced myself to imagine the crime to be able to wrap my head around the story and I felt physically ill. My generation is sick. I don't know if it has to do with society, culture, our parents, TV, or what but we definitely have issues. Parents, please stop trying to be friends with your kids. It's not your job to be popular with your child. It's your job to nurture, care for, and teach them with a firm hand. I'm not blaming parents for kids like this because sometimes, parents have nothing to do with whatever issues their child has. But in a lot of these murder cases that are littering the news, the people had drug heads for parents, were molested by them or close family members, or the parents were just too lenient and let them run wild. If you see that your child is having problems, get them help. Don't just brush it off as teen issues. Sometimes, it's a lot bigger. Personally, and from a religious stand point, I don't believe in the death penalty for adults or children because I don't believe murder is best dealt with by murder. You can't fight fire with fire. I think this kid should go to prison for the rest of his life, though. When you're 14, you may be young, but you are not dumb. You know the law and you know right from wrong. My 2 and a half year old brother knows not to hit because he knows his hand will be spanked and he'll send to time out. When a 2 year old knows right from wrong and knows there are consequences for his actions, a 14 year old is more than capable of knowing that raping a baby boy and killing him is wrong. By killing that baby, the teen knew there would be consequences for raping him. And then, by putting his poor little body in a dryer, he knew there would be consequences for murdering him. The teen knew right from wrong. He should be punished for his crime. God bless both families.

i cant belive this im only 12 yaers old how can some body do that to a kid now when i read this i wasa nerley abut to cry and i say why cant teenagers just be teenagrers if i was alxes mom i wolud be so scaerd that like i have this lil boy but now hes gone lord i pray for alxes mom and hope she dose o right

love essence
p.s.god bless alex

AimeeRenae, I agree with you 99%. The one thing I totally disagree with is that they should go to prison for the rest of their lives.

What will that prove besides telling everyone "hey, you can go and perform heinous crimes, and the rest of the honest, working persons tax dollars will finance your sorry ass until you die"?

As you stated, a 14yr old knows right from wrong. I see NO reason why minors shouldn't be tried as adults - you do adult crimes, you get adult punishment, including the death penalty. I don't mean sitting on death row forever either. The death penalty should be just that - DEATH. Why give them the chance to survive at our expense when they made the conscious decision to take the life of someone else - not us.

EVERYONE IS ENTITLED TO THERE OWN OPINION. HOWEVER PLEASE BEFORE WRITING A BUNCH OF BS ON HERE PLEASE KEEP IN MIND A FAMILY LOST A YOUNG CHILD.EVERYONE PLEASE STOP AND THINK IF IT WAS YOUR CHILD,OR FAMILY MEMBER THAT WAS MURDERED & MOLESTED HOW WOULD YOU FEEL ??????????
THIS IS MY FAMILY ALEX IS MY COUSIN'S SON. HIS MOTHER IS MY FIRST COUSIN AND EVERYONE CAN SAY WHY WAS A 4 YR OLD CHILD PLAYING OUTSIDE ALONE OR WHERE WERE THE PARENTS???? OR YOU CAN ALSO BE FOR THE 14 YR OLD WHO DID THIS TO ALEX AND SAY WHATEVER YOU THINK IS GOING TO MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER ABOUT YOURSELF AS A PERSON. YOU CAN THINK RAUL CASTRO IS NOT GUILTY FOR WHAT HE DID, TRY AND PUT A REASON BEHIND IT ALL WELL KEEP TRYING. RAUL DID WHAT HE DID AND I DO NOT FEEL SORRY FOR HIM OR HIS FAMILY.
YOU CAN SAY I AM BEING HATEFUL I DONT GIVE A S--T. IT MADE ME SICK TO MY STOMACH TO HEAR HOW HE KILLED LITTLE ALEX THEY HAVE ONE ARTICLE WITH RAUL'S HEIGHT AND WEGIHT HE IS 5 FEET TALL AND WEGIHT IS 170LBS SO PICTURE HIM MOLESTING YOUR CHILD AND THEN AFTER THAT HE DROWNS YOUR CHILD IN THE BATHTUB AND WAIT AFTER THAT CHECKED HIS PULSE WTF IS THAT?????????
YOU CAN TRY AND BE THE MOST PROTECTIVE PARENT,BE THERE FOR YOUR CHILD,BUT IT IS NEVER GOOD ENOUGH.
MY FAMILY IS MOURNING THE LOST OF A YOUNG CHILD ALEX WAS ONLY 4YRS OLD. I CAN'T EVER IMAGINE LOSING ONE OF MY CHILDREN BUT NOT ONLY LOSING THEM, HAVING THEM MURDERED AND MOLESTED.
I THINK ABOUT IT SO MANY TIMES AND NO MATTER WHAT KIND OF NEIGBORHOOD YOU LIVE IN IT CAN BE UPPER, MIDDLE, OR LOW CLASS IT COULD HAPPEN.
PLEASE JUST THINK ABOUT IT AND IF IT WAS YOUR CHILD HOW WOULD YOU FEEL TOWARDS RAUL CASTRO.
ALSO KEEP IN MIND, HOW CHILDREN AT THE AGE OF 4 ARE, THEY CAN SNEAK AWAY IN A MINUTE AND IN THAT MINUTE THEY ARE GONE, SOMEONE HAS TAKEN THEM AWAY FROM YOU FOREVER.
I CAN THINK OF MANY WAYS A CHILD CAN GET OUT OF THE HOUSE WITHOUT SOMEONE SEEING THEM AND THEN THINK ABOUT THE TIME IT TAKES YOU TO LOOK FOR YOUR CHILD IN THE HOUSE AND YOU REALIZE THEY ARE NOT IN THERE SO YOU START LOOKING OUTSIDE BY THAT TIME WHOEVER WANTS TO HARM YOUR CHILD HAS THEM AND ITS OVER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is ridiculous! Elsa Castro Fail! I can not believe that someone including his own mother would even say he is a good, intelligent boy! This fourteen year old deserves to be tried as an adult. He is clearly old enough and as his mother says "intelligent" enough to know that this was morally wrong, illegal, and sick. Good job parents! Bravo!

This is tragic. What a beautiful boy! The family must be devasted! My thoughts and prayers are with the family.

The story is not very clear:
Was this 14 year old just a neighbor?
Was his mother the babysitter?
Why was a 4 year old playing outside by himself?
What kind of a neighborhood is this?

I Don't know how lawyers can do that--You know defend the Criminal even though they know they're guilty.

I DNT KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO IF MY SON WENT MISSING LET ALONE RAPED AND KILLED, I LEAVE THIS COMMENT AS RESPECT TO THE FAMILIY OUR FRIENDS HAVE BEEN HIT HARD WITH THE NEWS OF THEIR NEPHEW BEING DEAD AT THE AGE OF 4. GOD BLESS HIM AND HIS FAM AS TO CASTRO IM NO ONE TO JUDGE BUT I PRAY TO GOD U GET MORE THAN 47 YEARS!!!

I WOUNDER HOW MANY OTHER KIDS CASTRO THOUGHT OF MOLESTING OR HOW MANY KIDS HE TOUCHED! I CANT IMAGINE MY SON GOING MISSING OR YET ALONE RAPED, DROWNED AND LEFT THERE WITH NO LIFE NO MORE SPIRIT, PERSONALITY HIS CHILDHOOD TAKEN AWAY FOR CASTRO TO ENJOY A BRIFE PIECE OF LUST. I HAD TO HEAR THE NEWS NOT FROM THE T.V. BUT HAD TO LIVE THIS NIGHTMARE THROUGH ALEX'S FAMILY GOD BLESS THEM AS FOR CASTRO I HOPE
YOU RECIEVE MORE THAN 47YRS.

R Henry is a troll

Solo quiero decirle a la gente que lee esto, por que dejaron un nino de 4 anos sin supervision?
Acaso el vecindario era tranquilo? Por favor averiguen si este chamaco le ha hecho cosas a otros ninos que su madre ha tenido en su cuidado. Se supone que la mama de este canijo mocoso era la babysitter? Y me da gusto que allan encontrado al culpable. Padres diganle a sus hijos que eso no esta correcto, que no se viola. El cuerpo ajedo es sagrado como el propio.

Our heart's and Prayer's go out to the Mercado Family, our deepest sypanthy to your and your family, may god send one his Angels down, to guide you and to get you through this, this is one of the most toughest things, that a parent can go through, even though we dont understand how you feel, we can just imagine,we also want to say, how very sorry we are for your loss, we wish you and your family the best. God bless you, and take care.

this is not cool because he is just a little boy,and i think he is sweet,and it is sad.

OMG, this is very sad. I feel bad for the 4 year olds family. My heart goes out to them. That 14 year old should get what he deserves and not let out. Thats just disgusting.

MMan i am so heart broken from this. This just comes to show what this world is coming to....a lot has to do with the parents...maybe its something he saw that set him off. Also though he could have had a mean streak or just jealous of seeing another child if he is the only child in his family. Children now days do what they please...and God knows that this needs to come to an end....Please God bless this family...My prayers will be with them...much love to everyone..Buy Byes

OMG people these days r soooo dumb they need to think before they act i just cant beilive it waz a 14 yr old kid who killed a 4yr old boy tht is just sad!!!hopefully he stays in jail for the rest of his life nd he can die there alone!!!tht is wat he gets!!

Where were the child's parents? Where was his babysitter? How much time passed before this little boy was molested and killed? PLEASE, PLEASE REMEMBER TO SUPERVISE YOUR CHILDREN! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

God Bless this young child. Tonight I will hug & kiss my babies when I get home from work.

Brianna,
I'm 13 years old and I have a 4 year old brother too. I would flip out if someone ever touched or did something this horrible to my brother. My little brother is basically my world. i would do anything for him. I mean anything! when i read this my eyes swelled with tears because i just imagined this happening to my brother. its disgusting and absolutely horrid. I hope this Raul Castro kid gets what he deserves! God Bless Alex! May he rest in peace!

Wanna talk? Hit me up! penguin.luver96@yahoo.com

omg how could this hapen....wat a perve he should get locked up for life,freakin pig!!!

OMG this is so sad I'm Really sorry for the parents R.I.P that little angle AND THE OTHER BOY COULD GO TO HELL!!!!!!

This is discusting, there is no excuse for disturbing behavior. he knew what he was doing. This is an act of evil and he should get the death penalty. he didnt give the child any mercy so why should this country? i agree he can go to hell! that was someone's little angel, R.I.P little guy. my condolences to the family.
you'll be in our prayers.

Guilty! After ten you know exactly what you'red doing! He maybe didn't mean for it to go that far but in the end he knew his actions were wrong to begin with. I don't feel sorry for him at all and for anyone who hurts children for that matter. I hope he gets life and I'm deeply sorry for that little boy family for no matter how long that idiot goes to jail for they would never get there little boy back.

I think that some people are just being stupid because if Castro said that he did it was because he did it. I personally lost a brother and even though nothing like this happen to him it is extremely painful for the family so if you didn't know how it feel to loss a little brother or child think before you say something stupid. My condolences to the family and I hope that it was possible for him to get the death penalty because he deserves it. Ans I also think that the mother should go to jail cause I heard that she knew what her son did and did went to the police.

this is so messed up,my mom told me about this and it was heartbreaking because i have a 4 year old nephew and i simply cant imagine someone doing that to him and the poor boy who suffered this. i think the boy who did this should wait until he is able to count as an adult and be sentence to the maximum punishment. THIS IS SICK AND WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yur head must be f***ed if you do something like this. man this is so sad. my heart goes out to this family

that is so messed up , my prayers go to the family of this little boy , i have a 4 year old brother and i would hate the person that would do that to my little brother ,

abby:i was crying when i heard this case on tv i would of gave my life for alex christopher mercado that 14 year old boy is so crazy how could he do that a little boy that is still an angel......

omg i cant believe someone would hurt a child this way. its sad how our community is changing.

dam that nigga should get a death penlty i hope thats whats he gits. because i have a baby girl and i dnt want nuthing happening to her im so shock...... r.i.p alex

damn that's crazy.. i don't understand why a 14-year old boy would kidnap a 4-year old and do something like that.. i don't think it was right and there is nooooo explanation or excuse for what he did.... i think justice will be served and i think he should be charged as an adult... and me and my family give our condolences to your family and where very sorry that this happened and we wish yall the best of luck and keep your head up high... and remember revenge is not the answer don't stoop down to his level when he's in jail he will have many regrets....
(R.I.P)... IN LOVING MEMORY ALEX
e n e
s a
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i thing this is disscusting im 14 myself but i have never tought of doing such a terrible thing in my 14 years of living ive never tought about sexually molesting a 4 year old boy or girl i dont even think about those kinds of things i dont think about molesting any girl my age or boy its terrible i dont now this kid or anything but its the society kids are living in they get this from adults adults are suppose to give the young ones good examples but look what happens this whole world is going to hell.

I agree that this 14-year old boy should be tried as an adult, but I don't like how everyone is degrading him and insulting him. Yes what he did was unspeakably horrible, but if everyone in soceity wasn't so mean to him he probably wouldn't feel the need to do something like that. I bet he didn't have anyone to talk to about his, er, 'urges'. I hope he serves his time, but I hope everyone realises the next time they're mean to someone they could be turning the person into a murderer.

My Sister is going through alot in coping with my Nephew alex's death. Even though the 14yr old did do what he did I do think his mom should be in jail with him. she new what her son did and tried to cover for him. she sent the police on a wild goose chase knowing he was in her home. I hate that the news only say what they want and not the whole truth. they should both rot in H E double hokie sticks.

I cant belive that a 14 year old could do that, doesnt he have a concious? Last saturday on 1-31-10 i went to church and i saw sister Mercado, she was so sad and she seemed to be so hurt... When i saw her a saw in her eyeas that she missed him so much and that she knew he was still her little angel... She misses her little boy and im pretty sure that Alex misses her to. I just hope that god forgives Raul Renato Castro...

thiss iss reallyy sadd :( ii cant believee thiss 14 yearr oldd hadd the courage to do thiss. myy condolencess goess out to thee mercado familyy-Cee